preview: cambridge folk festival 2012.

this year's cambridge folk festival is only a few days away (26 - 29 july) and for the first time ever i took the time to check out the entire line up before heading to a festival. after a few hours of listening to great and not so great music, here's my top 15 of bands (in alphabethical order) you should try to catch at the cambridge folk festival this year. see you there!

1. ahab

the four-piece from london is basically the embodiment of uk americana. having seen them many times before, i can assure you that you will not be disappointed. beautiful harmonies and simply a sound you have to dance to is exactly what you can expect from ahab.


*listen to: lightning bug, run me down
*CFF day: thursday

2. charlene soraia

she describes her sound as alternative folk but in my opinion there's a bit of pop and even some jazz/rnb in there as well. charlene soraia started playing guitar at the age of 5 and released 3 eps before recording her debut album moonchild (which was released on peacefrog records in january 2012). i'm intrigued to see if the honesty of her lyrics also comes across on stage.

* listen to: bipolar, postcards from io
* CFF day: saturday

3. dry the river

lately it seems like dry the river are everywhere. that's no surprise though. since they released their debut record shallow bed earlier this year, they're the one and only folk-rock band you cannot run away from. rightly so and definitely a band you shouldn't miss.


* listen to: animal skins, lion's den, shaker hymns
* CFF day: thursday

 4. gerard and the watchmen

it is a mystery to me why these guys are not yet signed to a major label. it can only be a matter of time as i don't see how anyone can resist those wonderful vocals mixed with traditional folk bits and of course a small personal touch. next big thing on the folk radar? perhaps.




* listen to: sophie, hesitate
* CFF day: saturday

5. jake bugg

it doesn't matter which big music magazine you read right now, you will definitely come across jake bugg at one point. with a voice like richard ashcroft, his music fits right in with bands like oasis or even johnny cash. great sound that gets you going. he's one to keep an eye on.

* listen to: country song, lightning bolt
* CFF day: friday

6. jay leighton

CFF is certainly not limited to just folk music and jay leighton is a good example for the variety of music at the festival. i'd describe his music as melancholic pop with a shade of folk. jay leighton plays tunes that get you dreaming and hopefully this energy will come across on stage aswell.





* listen to: night and day, everything you love
* CFF day: saturday

 7. karima francis

do not miss her because she's simply brilliant. that's all you need to know, so i repeat: don't be an idiot and make sure to catch her set!

* listen to: glory days, wherever i go
* CFF day: sunday

8. lee mitchell

here's the man i'm probably most looking forward to (among a few others). lee mitchell has an irresistable voice. you're drawn to his music and can't do anything about it. but that's just the way it goes and it's not surprising at all. check him out. you'll be glad you did.

* listen to: regrets, these dirty words
* CFF day: friday

 9. lera lynn

i came across lera lynn by accident a few weeks ago. obviously i was very thankful to find out that she's playing at CFF. her record have you met lera lynn? is already one of my favourite albums of 2012. beautiful vocals and a relaxed folk sound... perfect mix.

* listen to: happy ever after, for the ride
* CFF day: sunday

10. the miserable rich

when i first checked out the miserable rich earlier this year, i had mixed feelings about their sound and decided to see them live to make up my mind. and the verdict? incredible live band, especially unplugged. absolutely amazing and definitely a band to see at CFF.


* listen to: laid up in lavender, imperial lines
* CFF day: saturday

11. phantom limb

phantom limb are already one of my CFF highlights. having seen them support ahab in london, i cannot wait to experience this live magic again. yolanda's voice is absolutely to die for. there's nothing that'll keep you from falling in love with this band.

* listen to: missy, the pines, tumbling down
* CFF day: friday

 12. rachel sermanni

another female artist? yes. i'm usually not that much into female vocals but the CFF simply offers so many amazing female artists that it's hard to simply ignore them all. rachel sermanni has got a gorgeous voice that seems to literally flow through her songs. stunning.

* listen to: eggshells, the fog
* CFF day: sunday

13. ruthie foster

she's got the gospel voice i was looking for while browsing through the line up. ruthie foster brings classic american gospel music combined with modern blues/jazz elements to the uk. brilliant voice, great sound. you'll find me in front of the stage during her set.

* listen to: welcome home, it makes no difference
* CFF day: sunday

14. seth lakeman

he's playing the fiddle like no one else (besides sam sweeney perhaps) and he sings too - if that doesn't make you want to see him, let me tell you that his drummer is incredible. both of them together and you're definitely in for a treat.

* listen to: the watchman, tender traveller
* CFF day: sunday

15. the staves

3 beautiful sisters and they're all blessed with incredible talent. who would've thought? but it's true. gorgeous 3-part harmonies accompanied by a guitar and a ukulele in most cases. it doesn't get much better than this. make sure to catch them at least once.

* listen to: i try, the motherlode

* CFF day: saturday & sunday

7 gigs in 7 days. part three.

who: keane

where: leas cliff hall, folkestone, uk

when: 4 june 2012

support: zulu winter

after two busy days at two wonderful festivals in london, we headed to folkestone on monday morning to see keane at the leas cliff hall. folkestone itself is not really a place you’d expect a band like keane to play a gig but i’m sure everyone who was there would agree with me when i say it was one of the best keane gigs i’ve ever seen. the support band zulu winter was alright and might be worth keeping an eye on in the future. earlier this year, keane played two shows in bexhill-on-sea to promote their new album strangeland (which was released in may). i was at one of those gigs and not really that impressed… probably only because it was the first time they played the new songs, no one knew them, no one was able to sing along. the atmosphere was a bit odd. folkestone on the other hand was insanely amazing. it felt like everyone knew  the lyrics to every single song, old favourites like somewhere only we know or crystal ball and the new tunes like day will come or everyone’s new favourite sovereign light café. the highlight though was sea fog – only a piano and tom chaplin’s clear vocals… absolutely beautiful!

who: tom williams & the boat

where: lexington, london, uk

when: 5 june 2012

buying tickets to see a band i don’t really know is something i do fairly often and so far it’s usually been a success. tom williams & the boat is one of those bands that a friend recommended to me, only this time this particular friend was able to join me too. we went to the lexington quite late and therefore missed the support bands. we could not have cared less though as tom williams & the boat were really good. their folk/rock/pop sound comes across great live, so it was no surprise that i ended up buying their album teenage blood the next day. they seemed to be quite relaxed on stage and obviously enjoyed the show, just like us.

who: father john misty

where: shacklewell arms, london, uk

when: 6 june 2012 

support: ?

now… josh tillman aka father john misty might just be one of my favourite musicians of all time. i absolutely love his music, his “old” stuff (released as j. tillman) and his new stuff (released under his new pseudonym father john misty) are equally amazing and simply brilliant. it’s impossible not to fall in love with his unique lyrics. his humour certainly needs some getting used to but people who are not easily offended will definitely enjoy his little stories on stage. i was dying to see him live and basically jumped at the chance when i found out he'd be playing in london. the support band was something i just had to deal with, so i'm sorry i can't even tell you anymore what the band's name was. father john misty certainly made up for the boring support act. his voice is unbelievable live and something everyone should experience at least once. i don’t think there’s anyone out there who knows josh tillman but not that he used to be fleet foxes' drummer. but in case there are fleet foxes fans out there who didn’t know that yet… check out mr. tillman. it’ll be worth it. he’s back on tour in europe later this year.

who: reptar

where: birthdays, london, uk

when: 7 june 2012

i’ve discovered reptar only a few months before seeing them live. they were a great recommendation from a friend from germany. i instantly fell in love with their “disco dust” sound and was thrilled to find out they’d come to europe for a few gigs. i couldn’t wait to see them live and thankfully they did not disappoint at all. their energy on stage is absolutely insane. the only unpleasant thing about this show was the group of drunk people right in front of the tiny stage. but by the time the band came back for an encore and played my favourite reptar tune stuck in my id, i totally forgot about those people. anyway, reptar are sure a band that knows how to make people dance and enjoy themselves.

 who: tom williams & the boat

where: deaf institute, manchester, uk

when: 8 june 2012

support: clockwork radio, the gramotones 

when tom williams & the boat announced that they would be supported by one of my favourite local manchester bands, the gramotones, i persuaded a friend to come along. as if seeing tom and his boat again wouldn’t have been enough, the gramotones as a support was basically the cherry on top. the first support act that night was clockwork radio who didn’t really convince me (unlike many others in the audience) but since the rest of the night was really promising, having to sit through their set didn’t bother me at all. the gramotones were brilliant as always and ended their set with yet another amazing performance of little river. and tom williams & the boat? well, there’s not much to add. their manchester show was at least as good as the london one earlier that week. over all a great end to what was an exhausting but very exciting week.

************************************************

 keane

keane

tom williams & the boat

(in london)

reptar

 the gramotones

 tom williams & the boat

(in manchester)